Method, system and program for storing and using metadata in multiple storage locations

ABSTRACT

Provided are a method, system, and program for storing and using metadata in multiple storage location. Signature data is stored in a system storage indicating a plurality of metadata copy locations, each locating identifying a storage device and a copy location within the storage device. Each location contains one copy of the metadata, wherein the metadata includes system configuration information. A copy of the signature data is stored with each copy of the metadata.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/991,664, filed on Nov. 17, 2004, which patent application isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method, system, and program forstoring and using metadata in multiple storage locations.

2. Description of the Related Art

In certain computing environments, multiple host systems may communicatewith multiple control units, such as an IBM Enterprise Storage Server(ESS)®, for data in a storage device managed by the ESS receiving therequest, providing access to storage devices, such as interconnectedhard disk drives through one or more logical paths. (IBM and ESS areregistered trademarks of IBM). The interconnected drives may beconfigured as a Direct Access Storage Device (DASD), Redundant Array ofIndependent Disks (RAID), Just a Bunch of Disks (JBOD), etc. The controlunits maintain critical metadata in local storage that is needed todetermine the configuration of the system. If the critical metadata iscorrupted, invalid or unavailable, then the control unit will fail andmay have to be completely reconfigured. The critical metadata istypically hidden from the host system and only available to the controlunit operating system.

SUMMARY

Provided are a method, system, and program for storing and usingmetadata in multiple storage location. Signature data is stored in asystem storage indicating a plurality of metadata copy locations, eachlocating identifying a storage device and a copy location within thestorage device. Each location contains one copy of the metadata, whereinthe metadata includes system configuration information. A copy of thesignature data is stored with each copy of the metadata.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a computing environment in whichembodiments are implemented.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of signature data information.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of information in a metadata record.

FIGS. 4-9 illustrate embodiments of operations to manage and usemetadata and signature data.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a computing environment in whichaspects of the invention are implemented. One or more hosts 2communicate Input/Output (I/O) requests directed to storage devices 4 a,4 b . . . 4 n to a control unit 6, where the control unit 6 manages I/Oaccess to the storage devices 4 a, 4 b . . . 4 n. In one embodiment, thecontrol unit 6 is comprised of two systems 8 a, 8 b, each including aprocessor 10 a, 10 b, a cache 12 a, 12 b, and a local storage 14 a, 14b. Each system 6 a, 6 b may be on separate power boundary. The twosystems 8 a, 8 b may cooperate as a redundancy pair to perform theoperation of the control unit such that in the event of a failure ofeither system, the remaining system takes over the operation of thecontrol unit in a non-disruptive manner. The systems 6 a, 6 b may beassigned to handle I/O requests directed to specific volumes configuredin the storage devices 4 a, 4 b . . . 4 n. The systems 6 a, 6 bcommunicate with the storage devices 4 a, 4 b . . . 4 n over a devicenetwork 16, which may comprise a local area network (LAN), storage areanetwork (SAN), bus interface, serial interface, etc. The processors 8 a,8 b execute I/O code 18 a, 18 to perform I/O and metadata managementoperations described herein. The local storage 14 a, 14 b may comprise amemory or a memory that is loaded from a non-volatile storage device.

The control unit 6 may comprise any type of server, such as anenterprise storage server, storage controller, etc., or other deviceused to manage I/O requests to attached storage devices 4 a, 4 b . . . 4n, where the storage devices may comprise storage devices known in theart, such as interconnected hard disk drives (e.g., configured as aDASD, RAID, JBOD, etc.), magnetic tape, optical disks, electronicmemory, etc. The hosts 2 may communicate with the control units 6 over anetwork (not shown), such as a Local Area Network (LAN), Storage AreaNetwork (SAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), wireless network, etc.Alternatively, the hosts 2 may communicate with the control unit 6 overa bus interface, such as a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) busor serial interface. The processors 10 a, 10 b may communicate with eachother over a connection 20 to handle failover or fallback.

The systems 8 a, 8 b maintain signature data 22 a, 22 b in their localstorage 14 a, 14 b that indicates the location of copies of metadata 24a, 24 b, 24 c in the storage devices 4 a, 4 b, 4 c. Copies of thesignature data 26 a, 26 b, 26 c are also maintained with the metadata 24a, 24 b, 24 c. The copies of the metadata 24 a, 24 b, 24 c may comprisecritical metadata including critical configuration information neededfor the control unit 6 to operate. If the critical metadata becomescorrupted or is unavailable, then the location and configuration ofvolumes on the storage devices may be lost and the control unit 6 mayneed to be reconfigured. The storage devices 4 a, 4 b, 4 c furtherinclude user data 28 a, 28 b, 28 c the hosts 2 access.

There may be more than the three storage devices 4 a, 4 b, 4 c shown andcertain storage devices may not include copies of metadata and signaturedata. Further, one storage device may include multiple copies of thesignature data and metadata. In one embodiment, three copies of metadataand signature data are stored in one or more storage devices. Inalternative embodiments, a different number of copies of metadata andsignature data may be maintained.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of information included with thesignature data 22 a, 22 b, 26 a, 26 b, 26 c, system identifiers (IDs) 50indicating the systems, e.g., 8 a, 8 b, for which the metadataidentified by the signature data is intended; metadata locations 52which identify one or more locations in the storage devices 4 a, 4 b, 4c where a copy of metadata is to be found, each metadata locationidentifying a storage device 4 a, 4 b, 4 c and, if more than one copy ofmetadata can be located on a storage device 4 a, 4 b, 4 c, theidentifier of the copy location on the identified storage device 4 a, 4b, 4 c; and a generation number 54 incremented whenever the contents ofthe signature is modified due to a change in the metadata locations. Themetadata 24 a, 24 b, 24 c may be stored at a predesignated location inthe storage devices, known to the I/O code 18 a, 18 b, such thatidentifying the storage devices in the storage device IDs 54 providessufficient information to locate the metadata 24 a, 24 b, 24 c andsignature data 26 a, 26 b, 26 c in the storage devices 4 a, 4 b . . . 4n.

Alternatively, there may be pointer metadata on the storage device at alocation known to the I/O code that further identifies the locations ofthe copies of metadata on the storage device such that identifying thestorage devices in the storage device IDs 54 and the identifier of acopy number on each storage device provides sufficient information tolocate the pointer metadata on that storage device and the pointermetadata provides the location of the metadata copies 24 a, 24 b, 24 cand their signature data 26 a, 26 b, 25 26 c on the storage devices 4 a,4 b . . . 4 n. If the storage device is a RAID array, each incarnationof a RAID array has a unique identifier. In one embodiment, the set ofidentified metadata locations in the signature data is ordered such thatthere is a 1st through Nth copy indicated. The ordering may be used tocontrol algorithms used to validate signatures and access metadata asdescribed subsequently.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of information included with a metadatarecord 70. In one embodiment, the metadata 24 a, 24 b, 24 c may becomprised of multiple metadata records. Each metadata record 70 mayinclude a first and second generation numbers 72, 74 indicating a numberof times the metadata record is updated, the actual metadata 76, and aerror correction code (ECC) or a longitudinal redundancy check (LRC)code used to ensure the metadata record has not become corrupted.

The operations to use and manage metadata described in FIGS. 4, 5, 6,and 8 may be performed in a control unit that includes only one systemor processor complex, i.e., no redundant hardware, or a control unitincluding two systems 8 a, 8 b such as shown in FIG. 1.

In one embodiment, there may be N candidate storage devices to store acopy of metadata on, each with M possible locations to store a copy ofthe metadata. As such there are N×M potential locations for the metadatato be stored. The control unit attempts to maintain K valid copies ofthe metadata, If K>N×M, then only N×M copies can be maintained. In oneembodiment, K>=2 and N×M>=2 such that there are at least two copies ofthe metadata that are available to the control unit at any given time.Having at least two copies makes it possible to recover from a mediaerror that corrupts a portion of one of the copies of the metadata. Inanother embodiment, K=3 and M=2 such that even when there is only onestorage device on which to store metadata, there are at least two copiesavailable on that storage device and when there are at least two storagedevices on which to store metadata, there are three copies available,with at least two copies on independent storage devices.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of operations implemented in the I/Ocode 18 a and/or 18 b (the operations of FIG. 4 may be implemented on acontrol unit having one processor/system or multiple processors/system)executed by the processors 10 a, 10 b to provide an initial copy of themetadata. Upon initiating operations (at block 100) to select theoptimal homes for metadata copies, the I/O code 18 a, 18 b makes (atblock 102) an initial selection of one or more storage devices 4 a, 4 b,4 c to store metadata to minimize the number of points of failure basedon the current available storage devices by preferring to place 20copies of the metadata in storage devices in different failureboundaries (e.g. on independent storage devices, on storage devices withindependent access paths, on storage devices with independent powerboundaries, etc.) or in locations where greater reliability is provided,(e.g. on higher reliability storage devices, on arrays with better RAIDredundancy, on RAID arrays that are not degraded due to failing devices,on storage devices with more independent access paths, etc.).

As the set of available storage devices changes, the set of optimummetadata homes is reevaluated and the placement of the copies of themetadata is rearranged as required to keep the copies on a set ofoptimum homes. The evaluation of the set of optimum homes must beperformed whenever the available set of metadata homes changes. This setmay change as a result of adding or deconfiguring storage devices or asresult of a storage device failure or repair. An initialized copy ofmetadata is created when the first storage device becomes available. Asadditional homes are added or removed, one or more existing copies ofmetadata may be moved from an existing home to a new home. The value ofthe signature data that is applicable changes each time the set ofmetadata homes used to store the metadata copies is modified. Thegeneration number 54 (FIG. 2) of the signature data is incremented eachtime the signature data changes.

When a new copy of metadata is to be created or an existing copy ofmetadata is to be removed (or has become inaccessible), the signaturedata for the control unit must be updated. In the case of migrating ametadata copy from an existing home (storage device 4 a, 4 b, 4 c) to amore optimal home, the existing copy can be removed and then a new copycreated.

FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of operations to remove a copy andcreate a new copy in order to update the signature data 50 when theconfiguration of the available storage devices 4 a, 4 b, 4 c changes,thereby causing a readjustment to select the optimal homes (storagedevices 4 a, 4 b, 4 c . . . 4 n) for the metadata to minimize the numberof points of failure based on the current available storage devices asdiscussed above. Upon initiating (at block 150) an operation to alterthe homes (storage devices 4 a, 4 b, 4 c) for the metadata, from the newstorage device configuration, the I/O code 18 a, 18 b determines (atblock 152) an optimal number and location of storage devices 4 a, 4 b, 4c for the metadata 70 to minimize the number of single points offailure. The I/O code performs operations 156 through 164 to remove theexisting copy of the metadata 70. A determination is made (at block 154)of the new signature data value 22 a, 22 b, 26 a, 26 b, 26 c for the newconfiguration of metadata homes (optimal storage device 4 a, 4 b, 4 cselection). I/Os are quiesced (at block 156) to the set of metadatacopies 24 a, 24 b, 24 c. The signature data value 22 a, 22 b, 26 a, 26b, 26 c are set (at block 158) to zero on the copy being removed and thesignature data values 26 a, 26 b, 26 c on the newly selected optimalstorage devices 4 a, 4 b, 4 c are updated (at block 160) in the orderindicated in the new signature data. The signature data values 22 a, 22b on the local storage 14 a, 14 b of each system 8 a, 8 b are alsoupdated (at block 162) and I/O resumes (at block 164) to the set ofmetadata copies 24 a, 24 b, 24 c.

The I/O code performs operations 166 through 176 to add a new copy ofthe metadata 70. The I/O code 18 a, 18 b determines (at block 166) thenew signature data value for the new configuration of metadata homes andcopies (at block 168) all metadata to the new homes, maintaining anyupdates to the metadata across all copies as they occur. The I/O code 18a, 18 b quiesces (at block 170) I/O to the set of metadata copies 24 a,24 b, 24 c and updates (at block 172) the signature data 26 a, 26 b, 26c on the storage devices 4 a, 4 b, 4 c for each metadata home in theorder found in the new signature data. The signature data 22 a, 22 b onthe local storage 14 a, 14 b of each system 8 a, 8 b is also updated (atblock 174) and I/O then resumes (at block 176) to the set of metadatacopies 24 a, 24 b, 24 c.

In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the update of the signatures is done whileI/O to the metadata copies is suppressed such that the transition to thenew signatures happens as an atomic operation with all copies having thesame metadata at the point the signatures are modified. At the end ofthe signature update process, all copies of the signature should becurrent on all local and storage device copies and any storages withouta metadata copy should not have a signature provided that all thesesignature locations are accessible. However, in cases where there isonly one processor online or where a storage device is inaccessible,older generations of signature may be left in place. If the updateprocess is disrupted by a power loss, the signatures may be left in atransitional state.

The signatures are updated in a specific order so that other algorithmscan be defined to resolve a valid data signature under reset conditionsas described subsequently.

When one or both systems 8 a, 8 b of the control unit 6 power up andbegin the operation of the control unit 6, the system(s) 8 a, 8 b mustfirst locate the valid copies of the current metadata 24 a 24 b, 24 c. Acopy of the signature data 26 a, 26 b, 26 c is maintained with each copyof the metadata and is also stored locally, i.e., in local storage 14 a,14 b, on each system 8 a, 8 b. The process of locating the currentmetadata is complicated by the fact that: not all the storage devicesmay be accessible to the operational system(s) due to failures; thesignatures may have been in the middle of being updated when a powerloss occurred; one of the systems may not have been operational and itslocal signature data may be out of date with any changes to the locationof the metadata made by the other operational server; either one or bothof the systems 8 a, 8 b may be operational at the point of the power up.

The I/O code 18 a, 18 b may validate that the current copies of metadata24 a, 24 b, 24 c have been located with a certain degree of confidence.The signature data 22 a, 22 b, 26 a, 26 b, 26 c determines the locationof the currently valid metadata 24 a, 24 b, 24 c, so that the I/O code18 a, 18 b need only determine the validity of the signature data 226 a,26 b, 26 c. If valid signature data is not determined, then the controlunit 6 does not go online to the attached hosts 2 and calls for serviceto let a service person attempt to sort out what copy if any of themetadata should be used. If at least one valid copy of metadata 24 a, 24b, 24 c can be located, then the system(s) 8 a, 8 b make additionalcopies of the metadata as previously described so that that theappropriate number of valid copies exist. The signature data 26 a, 26 b,26 c in the storage devices 4 a, 4 b, 4 c in the local signature data 22a, 22 b is updated to reflect the current valid copies once the locationof one or more copies is determined. The algorithm to determine a validsignature may depend on the procedure used to update the copies of thesignature data when the applicable signature changes for the controlunit.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate one embodiment of operations to validate a copyof signature data value 22 a, 22 b, 26 a, 26 b, 26 c when powering-on oras part of an initial microcode load (IML) operation. At block 200, onesystem, e.g., 8 a, performs an initialization, such as a power-on orIML, after a resetting condition. If (at block 202) the other system,e.g., 8 b, is operational and if (at block 204) there is signature data22 a, 22 b in both systems 8 a, 8 b, then the two signature data values22 a, 22 b are compared (at block 206). If (at block 208) they bothmatch and if (at block 210) at least one storage device signature data26 a, 26 b, 26 c both: (1) matches the local storage signature data 22a, 22 b or have a generation number 54 one greater than the localstorage signature data 22 a, 22 b and (2) has at least one storagedevice in common with the local storage signature data 22 a, 22 b, thencontrol proceeds to block 224 in FIG. 7. Otherwise, from the no branchof block 208 or 210, the I/O code 18 a determines (at block 212) whetherthere is one storage device signature data 26 a, 26 b, 26 c having ageneration number 54 equal to or one greater than the local storagesignature data 22 a, 22 b having the latest generation number and bothof these local and storage device signature data identify the storagedevice 4 a, 4 b, 4 c having the generation number equal or greater, thencontrol proceeds to block 224 in FIG. 7. Otherwise, from the no branchof block 212, a the control unit 6 does not go online (at block 214 andservice may be called.

If (at block 202) the other system, e.g., 8 b, is not operational or if(at block 204) only one system 8 a or 8 b has signature data 22 a or 22b, then control proceeds to block 220 in FIG. 7. At block 220, the I/Ocode 18 a scans all storage devices 4 a, 4 b, 4 c for signature data 26a, 26 b, 26 c for metadata homes, keeping track of each signature andits location. If (at block 222) there are two matching signature datavalues 26 a, 26 b, 26 c on storage devices 4 a, 4 b, 4 c with ageneration number 54 greater than any other signature data value (localstorage 14 a or storage device 4 a, 4 b, 4 c), then the storage devicesignature data 26 a, 26 b, 26 c with the greater generation number isvalidated (at block 224). The I/O code 18 a updates (at block 226) anysignature data values 22 a, 22 b s in local storage 14 a, 14 b and onthe storage devices 4 a, 4 b, 4 c indicated (in field 54 of FIG. 2) inthe validated signature data that are not the same as the validatedsignature data. The signature data 26 a, 26 b, 26 c on any storagedevices 4 a, 4 b, 4 c that are not identified by the validated signaturedata values are zeroed (at block 228). If the control unit 6 iscurrently offline (i.e. a power on for the first operational processor),then the I/O code 18 a synchronizes (at block 230) copies of metadata bycopying from the first copy through to the Jth copy to remove anypartial updates from prior power off. The I/O code 18 a further starts(at block 232) the processes to replicate or migrate metadata copies tooptimum homes as required and then goes online (at block 234).

From the no branch of block 222, if (at block 236) there is one storagedevice having signature data 26 a, 26 b, 26 c one generation number 54less than another storage device signature data and the signature datafor both storage devices identifies the storage devices, then controlproceeds to block 224 to validate the signature data value 26 a, 26 b,26 c with the latest generation number. From the no branch of block 236,if (at block 238) there is one storage device having signature data 26a, 26 b, 26 c one generation number 54 greater than or equal to localstorage 14 a signature data value 22 a, 22 b and the signature datavalue for the storage device having the greatest generation number andfor the storage system identifies the storage device 4 a, 4 b, 4 chaving the signature data value 26 a, 26 b, 26 c with the latestgeneration number 54, then control proceeds to block 224 to validate thestorage system signature data 26 a, 26 b, 26 b having the latestgeneration number one generation greater than the local signature data22 a, 22 b. Otherwise, from the no branch of block 238, control proceedsto block 240 to not go online and call for service. Other embodiments ofthe algorithm may choose different results (online or offline) for theconditions checked or might define additional conditions to checkdepending on the level of confidence desired in the determination of thevalidity of the signature.

The signature data value identifies an ordered set of metadata homeswith valid copies of the metadata. When any portion (i.e. a record) ofthe metadata is updated, the updates are made in this order to eachmetadata copy and the update is not considered complete until all copieshave been updated as described subsequently. In the case of a power lossor certain failures that cause discontinuance of the operation of allsystems in the control unit, it is possible that not all copies ofmetadata get updated. To prevent the metadata copies from being out ofsync, at power on time, the systems copy the data from the first copy ofthe metadata to the remaining copies (at block 230 in FIG. 7). Anyerrors detected on the first copy of the metadata are recovered by usingthe valid data available on the next successive copy of the metadata. Ifan update was not in progress on the data in error, then all copiesshould have had the same data and the recovery restores the current datato all copies. If a partial update was in progress, then taking the datafrom the next valid successive copy either restores all copies to theversion of the metadata that was intended to be updated or restores allcopies to the version of the metadata that existed prior to the update.In the first case, the partial update is completed. In the later case,the partial update is nullified. In either case the metadata is restoredto a consistent state since the partial update was disrupted before itwas complete and the system design must be able to handle that anincomplete partial update either occurred or did not occur.

When any portion (i.e. a record) of the metadata is updated, the updatesare made in this order to each metadata copy and the update is notconsidered complete until all copies have been updated. The updates areserialized to the multiple copies of the metadata so that a power lossdoes not end up partially updating all three copies resulting in theloss of the metadata in all copies. Read and write accesses to the sameportion (i.e. record) of the metadata are generally handled such thatthere are no read operations allowed while a write operation is inprogress. In this case, a read may be issued to any available copy ofthe metadata (i.e. all copies contain the same data assuming they weresynchronized at power on). A read failure (e.g. media error) on any copyis recovered by reading data from another valid copy of metadata until avalid copy of the portion of metadata is found. Once found any copies inerror are re-written with valid data. If no valid copy is found anderror is returned to the accessor of the data indicating that the datahas been lost. In cases where concurrent read and write accesses mightoccur to the same portion of metadata, the reads are issued in the orderthat updates are performed so that the latest copy of the metadata isread. If a failure is detected on either a read or a write access thatis indicative of a failure of the entire copy of metadata, then thatcopy is considered inaccessible, removed from the signature data, and anew copy is created in another metadata location, if any are available.

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment of operations to update a singlemetadata record 70 (FIG. 3) in one of the copies 24 a, 24 b, 24 c of themetadata implemented in the I/O code 18 a, 18 b. (The operations of FIG.8 may be implemented on a control unit having one processor/system ormultiple systems 8 a, 8 b). Upon initiating operations (at block 300) toupdate a specified metadata record 70, the update to the specifiedmetadata record is written (at block 302) to each copy of the metadata24 a, 24 b, 24 c in the at least one storage device 4 a, 4 b, 4 c byperforming the operations at blocks 304, 306, and 308 on one record copyat a time. At block 304, the I/O code 18 a increments the firstgeneration number 72 and writes the first block to the metadata record70. All blocks except the first and last block are written (at block306) to the metadata record 70. The second generation number 76 isincremented (at block 308), the LRC/CRC calculated for the entiremetadata record, and the last block is written to the metadata record70.

FIG. 9 illustrates an embodiment of operations to read a single metadatarecord 70 (FIG. 3) in one of the copies 24 a, 24 b, 24 c of the metadataimplemented in the I/O code 18 a, 18 b. (The operations of FIG. 9 may beimplemented on a control unit having one processor/system or multiplesystems 8 a, 8 b). At block 350, an operation is initiated to read aspecified metadata record 70 on a specified copy of the metadata 24 a,24 b, 24 c comprising a plurality of metadata records, where there are afirst 70 and second 76 (FIG. 3) generation numbers associated with eachmetadata record 70 indicating a number of times the metadata record hasbeen updated and an ECC or LRC check character. The I/O code 18 aattempts (at block 352) to read the specified metadata record 70 on onestorage device 4 a, 4 b, 4 c providing a home for the specified copy ofthe metadata 70. If (at block 354) there is an access error, then theaccess error is returned (at block 356) to a higher level accessorfunction. If (at block 354) there is no error, then the first 72 andsecond 76 generation numbers are checked (at block 358). If (at block360) they do not match, then a read error is returned (at block 362) toa higher level. If (at block 364) an LRC or uncorrectable CRC error isdetected on the metadata record, then a read error is returned to ahigher level. If no errors were detected, the metadata record has beenvalidated and is returned to the accessor function.

ADDITIONAL EMBODIMENT DETAILS

The described embodiments may be implemented as a method, apparatus orarticle of manufacture using standard programming and/or engineeringtechniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or any combinationthereof. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein refers to codeor logic implemented in hardware logic (e.g., an integrated circuitchip, Programmable Gate Array (PGA), Application Specific IntegratedCircuit (ASIC), etc.) or a computer readable medium, such as magneticstorage medium (e.g., hard disk drives, floppy disks, tape, etc.),optical storage (CD-ROMs, optical disks, etc.), volatile andnon-volatile memory devices (e.g., EEPROMs, ROMs, PROMs, RAMs, DRAMs,SRAMs, firmware, programmable logic, etc.). Code in the computerreadable medium is accessed and executed by a processor. The code inwhich preferred embodiments are implemented may further be accessiblethrough a transmission media or from a file server over a network. Insuch cases, the article of manufacture in which the code is implementedmay comprise a transmission media, such as a network transmission line,wireless transmission media, signals propagating through space, radiowaves, infrared signals, etc. Thus, the “article of manufacture” maycomprise the medium in which the code is embodied. Additionally, the“article of manufacture” may comprise a combination of hardware andsoftware components in which the code is embodied, processed, andexecuted. Of course, those skilled in the art will recognize that manymodifications may be made to this configuration without departing fromthe scope of the present invention, and that the article of manufacturemay comprise any information bearing medium known in the art.

In one embodiment, the first generation number may be in a first sectorof each metadata record and the second generation number in a lastsector of the metadata record.

In embodiments having redundant hardware, e.g., systems 8 a, 8 b, onesystem 8 a or 8 b may be designated the master to control the storagedevices 4 a, 4 b, 4 c in which copies of the metadata 24 a, 24 b, 24 care stored. In one embodiment, the master system 8 a or 8 b may assigncopies of the metadata 24 a, 24 b, 24 c to the systems 8 a, 8 b, suchthat the systems 8 a, 8 b manage the locking of their assigned metadatacopies 24 a, 24 b, 24 c.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show certain information included in the signature dataand metadata records. In alternative embodiments, this information maybe stored in different data structures having different formats andinformation than shown.

The illustrated operations of FIGS. 4-8 show certain events occurring ina certain order. In alternative embodiments, certain operations may beperformed in a different order, modified or removed. Moreover, steps maybe added to the above described logic and still conform to the describedembodiments. Further, operations described herein may occur sequentiallyor certain operations may be processed in parallel. Yet further,operations may be performed by a single processing unit or bydistributed processing units.

The foregoing description of various embodiments of the invention hasbeen presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It isnot intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the preciseform disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in lightof the above teaching. It is intended that the scope of the invention belimited not by this detailed description, but rather by the claimsappended hereto. The above specification, examples and data provide acomplete description of the manufacture and use of the composition ofthe invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, theinvention resides in the claims hereinafter appended.

1. A method, comprising: generating signature data indicating aplurality of metadata copy locations, each location identifying one of aplurality of storage devices and a copy location within the storagedevice, wherein each location contains one copy of the metadata, whereinthe metadata includes system configuration information; storing a copyof the signature data with each copy of the metadata in the storagedevices; and reading one copy of the metadata from one of the storagedevices to obtain system configuration information to use to operate. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the location of the storage devices tostore the copies of the metadata are selected to minimize a number ofpoints of failure.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:initiating an operation to alter the locations of the metadata copies inthe storage devices storing the metadata; determining new locations inthe storage devices for the metadata; updating each copy of thesignature data to indicate the new locations for the metadata; and copymetadata and the updated signature data to any of the new locations thatdo not already include metadata and signature data.
 4. The method ofclaim 3, wherein the locations within the signature data comprises anordered set, wherein the signature data is updated at the locations inan order according to the ordered set.
 5. The method of claim 3, whereinthe determination of the new location is made in response to a change inthe set of storage devices and wherein the determination of the newlocation is performed in order to minimize a number of points of failurefor the changed set of the storage devices.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein two processing systems are capable of accessing the metadata andsignature data in the storage devices, and wherein each processingsystem has a computer readable medium including a copy of the signaturedata.
 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising: receiving an updateto the metadata; and serially copying the update to the metadata in thestorage devices according to an ordering of the storage device locationsindicated in the signature data.
 8. The method of claim 6, furthercomprising: receiving a request to read the metadata; accessing themetadata in the storage locations until one valid copy of the metadatais found; and updating copies of the metadata determined to be invalidwith the accessed valid copy of the metadata.
 9. A system, comprising: aplurality of storage devices a processing system having a system storageand in communication with the storage devices; and a computer readablemedium including code executed by the processing system to performoperations comprising: generating signature data indicating a pluralityof metadata copy locations, each location identifying one of a pluralityof storage devices and a copy location within the storage device,wherein each location contains one copy of the metadata, wherein themetadata includes system configuration information; storing a copy ofthe signature data with each copy of the metadata in the storagedevices; and reading one copy of the metadata from one of the storagedevices to obtain system configuration information to use to operate.10. The system of claim 9, wherein the locations of the storage devicesto store the copies of the metadata are selected to minimize a number ofpoints of failure.
 11. The system of claim 9, wherein the operationscaused by the code further comprises: initiating an operation to alterthe locations of the metadata copies in the storage devices storing themetadata; determining new locations in the storage devices for themetadata; updating each copy of the signature data to indicate the newlocations for the metadata; and copy metadata and the updated signaturedata to any of the new locations that do not already include metadataand signature data.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the locationswithin the signature data comprises an ordered set, wherein thesignature data is updated at the locations in an order according to theordered set.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the determination ofthe new location is made in response to a change in the set of storagedevices and wherein the determination of the new location is performedin order to minimize a number of points of failure for the changed setof the storage devices.
 14. The system of claim 9, wherein theprocessing system comprises a first processing system, furthercomprising: a second processing system, wherein both processing systemsare capable of accessing the metadata and signature data in the storagedevices, and wherein each processing system has a local storageincluding a copy of the signature data.
 15. The system of claim 14,wherein the code further causes operations comprising: receiving anupdate to the metadata; and serially copying the update to the metadatain the storage devices according to an ordering of the storage devicelocations indicated in the signature data.
 16. The system of claim 14,wherein the code further causes operations comprising: receiving arequest to read the metadata; accessing the metadata in the storagelocations until one valid copy of the metadata is found; and updatingcopies of the metadata determined to be invalid with the accessed validcopy of the metadata.
 17. An article of manufacture comprising at leastone of a hardware device having hardware logic and a computer readablestorage medium having executable code to communicate with a plurality ofstorage devices and a system storage and to cause operations to beperformed, the operations comprising: generating signature dataindicating a plurality of metadata copy locations, each locationidentifying one of a plurality of storage devices and a copy locationwithin the storage device, wherein each location contains one copy ofthe metadata, wherein the metadata includes system configurationinformation; storing a copy of the signature data with each copy of themetadata; and reading one copy of the metadata from one of the storagedevices to obtain system configuration information to use to operate.18. The article of manufacture of claim 17, wherein the location of thestorage devices to store the copies of the metadata are selected tominimize a number of points of failure.
 19. The article of manufactureof claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise: initiating anoperation to alter the locations of the metadata copies in the storagedevices storing the metadata; determining new locations in the storagedevices for the metadata; updating each copy of the signature data toindicate the new locations for the metadata; and copy metadata and theupdated signature data to any of the new locations that do not alreadyinclude metadata and signature data.
 20. The article of manufacture ofclaim 19, wherein the locations within the signature data comprises anordered set, wherein the signature data is updated at the locations inan order according to the ordered set.
 21. The article of manufacture ofclaim 19, wherein the determination of the new location is made inresponse to a change in the set of storage devices and wherein thedetermination of the new location is performed in order to minimize anumber of points of failure for the changed set of the storage devices.22. The article of manufacture of claim 17, wherein two processingsystems are capable of accessing the metadata and signature data in thestorage devices, and wherein each processing system has a computerreadable medium including a copy of the signature data.
 23. The articleof manufacture of claim 22, wherein the operations further comprise:receiving an update to the metadata; and serially copying the update tothe metadata in the storage devices according to an ordering of thestorage device locations indicated in the signature data.
 24. Thearticle of manufacture of claim 22, wherein the operations furthercomprise: receiving a request to read the metadata; accessing themetadata in the storage locations until one valid copy of the metadatais found; and updating copies of the metadata determined to be invalidwith the accessed valid copy of the metadata.